Did you know that if your child has a disability and an IEP, IDEA requires the school to provide physical education as part of your child's special education program?

Often parents write us saying they feel their child is left out of PE or recess. Problems also occur when teachers don't know how to include a child with disabilities in physical education.

Because PE is a required component of special education, your child's physical education teacher should be included as a member of the IEP team.

In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate, you will learn the IDEA definition of physical education and the requirements for instruction in PE. Find out about Adapted Physical Education (APE), when it is appropriate for your child, and national standards for APE instruction.

Please don't hesitate to forward this issue to other friends, families, or colleagues.

Learn about the national standards for adapted physical education and how we can ensure that all students who qualify for specially designed physical education services receive instruction from a "qualified" teacher.

Common Misconceptions about PE for Kids with Disabilities

Physical education cannot be the only
special education service on the IEP.
TRUE /
FALSE

Adapted physical education teachers live
in the gymnasium and are not involved in
the IEP Process.
TRUE /
FALSE

Instructional assistants/paraprofessionals
are not part of the physical education
program.
TRUE /
FALSE

Watch the video Healthy, Physically Fit, and Ready for Action. Learn about all aspects of adapted physical education: definition, legislative issues, assessment, service delivery, quality of instruction, and the truth about the top 10 misconceptions about PE for kid with disabilities.

Under the Fitness and Athletic Equity Act for Students with Disabilities passed in 2008, Maryland public schools are required to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to try out and play on mainstream school sports teams.

Why You Need to Ask "Dumb" Questions

I was so "dumb" that when my daughter was in first grade, her father or I went to school every day she was scheduled for physical education so we could remove her from activities that were contraindicated for her physical condition.

I was so "dumb" I didn't know there was such a thing as adaptive physical education, or that the school had to make accommodations for her disability and modifications to the curriculum.

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